The rune crossbow is faster than the magic shortbow and the Rune 2h crossbow, but does not offer a damage bonus, while the shortbow and 2h crossbow do. To compensate, it can be wielded with a shield for significant defensive bonuses. This allows for players to range while still keeping defensive abilities of shields such as an anti-dragon or dragonfire shield when fighting dragons. Alternatively, it can be combined with an off-hand rune crossbow to dramatically increase one's attacking power and grant access to dual wielded ranged abilities such as Needle Strike.